Electronic device

ABSTRACT

An electronic device that includes a cabinet having a top face, an undersurface, and a side that completely surrounds the top face and the undersurface by connecting the outer edge of the top face and the outer edge of the undersurface together; and an electronic part disposed inside the cabinet, wherein the cabinet has an exhaust hole provided in the undersurface of the cabinet, at a position distant from the side of the cabinet; a fan disposed inside the cabinet, which blows air inside the cabinet from the exhaust hole; and at least one protrusion disposed at the back of the undersurface of the cabinet, protruding from the undersurface of the cabinet and holding the cabinet placed on a flat plate in a state of being lifted.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is based upon and claims the benefit of priority of theprior Japanese Patent Application No. 2008-83925, filed on Mar. 27,2008, the entire contents of which are incorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

1. Field of the Invention

An embodiment discussed herein is directed to an electronic deviceequipped with a cabinet and electronic parts disposed inside thecabinet.

2. Description of the Related Art

Generally, electronic devices incorporate various kinds of electronicparts inside a box-shaped cabinet to realize features corresponding tothe electronic devices. Some of these electronic devices incorporateelectronic parts that generates heat inside the cabinet, thereby adopt astructure in which a cooling fan is provided to cool down the electronicparts and prevent the temperature inside the cabinet from becoming highwith the heat generated from the electronic parts and further an exhausthole is provided in the cabinet so that the air heated by depriving theheat from the heat-producing electronic parts can be discharged from theexhaust hole.

For example, a notebook type personal computer (hereinafter, abbreviatedas note PC) is internally equipped with a CPU, other heat-producingelectronic parts, and many various kinds of electronic parts, and has amain unit equipped with a keyboard on the top face and a display unitequipped with a display screen hinge-mounted to the main unit to openand close freely. And the main unit incorporates a fan to cool down theCPU and the other heat-producing electronic parts, and is configured todischarge air from the exhaust hole provided in the sides of the cabinetor the like of the main unit.

The recent trend of ever more advanced functions and miniaturization ofthe note PC poses a problem about the position of the exhaust hole inthe cabinet of the main unit. Generally, the left and right sides of themain unit cabinet is quite packed with various kinds of parts providedthereat, for example, such as a CD/DVD mounting port, a memory cardloading port, various types of connectors, and an audio jack. Also,since the sides at the back of the main unit cabinet are similarlypacked and a battery for driving the note PC is often placed at the backof the main unit, and in that case, the placement of a connector or thelike in the sides of the back of the cabinet can be considerablylimited. Since there is an operator at the front side of the main unitcabinet, it is impossible to discharge the heated air from the sides ofthe front side.

Under such circumstances, the number of parts disposed in the sides ofthe cabinet tends to increase with ever more advanced features, whichmakes it very difficult to secure a space for forming an exhaust hole ofsufficient width, since area of the sides is becoming smaller with theadvancement of miniaturization and slimness. This trend is common notonly in the note PCs, but also in various types of electronic devicesSee, for example, Japanese Laid-open Patent Publication Nos. 10-270879,2000-227824, and 2001-345588.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

According to an aspect of the invention, an electronic device includes acabinet having a top face, an undersurface, and a side that completelysurrounds the top face and the undersurface by connecting the outer edgeof the top face and the outer edge of the undersurface together; and anelectronic part disposed inside the cabinet, wherein the cabinet has anexhaust hole provided in the undersurface of the cabinet, at a positiondistant from the side of the cabinet; a fan disposed inside the cabinet,which blows air inside the cabinet from the exhaust hole; and at leastone protrusion disposed at the back of the undersurface of the cabinet,protruding from the undersurface of the cabinet and holding the cabinetplaced on a flat plate in a state of being lifted.

Additional objects and advantages of the invention will be set forth inpart in the description which follows, and in part will be obvious fromthe description, or may be learned by practice of the invention. Theobject and advantages of the invention will be realized and attained bymeans of the elements and combinations particularly pointed out in theappended claims.

It is to be understood that both the foregoing general description andthe following detailed description are exemplary and explanatory onlyand are not restrictive of the invention, as claimed.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view illustrating the outlook of a note PC;

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an open state of the note PC;

FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a second closed state of the note PC;

FIG. 4 is a drawing illustrating the left side of the note PC in thefirst closed state (the state illustrated in FIG. 1);

FIG. 5 is a drawing illustrating the right side of the note PC in thefirst closed state (the state illustrated in FIG. 1);

FIG. 6 is a drawing illustrating the undersurface of the note PC;

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the note PC; and

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the main unit cabinet ofthe note PC.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below withreference to the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the outlook of a note PC. Here, thisnote PC will be explained as one embodiment of the electronic device.

This note PC has a main unit equipped with a keyboard on the top faceand a display unit equipped with a display screen. This note PC isso-called a convertible type which has a closed state where the displayunit is closed with the display screen facing the keyboard (a firstclosed state illustrated in FIG. 1) an open state where the display unitstands with the display screen facing the front side, and further, asecond closed state where the display unit is closed on the main unitwith the display screen facing upward.

FIG. 2 is a drawing illustrating an open state of the note PC in FIG. 1;FIG. 3 is a drawing illustrating a second closed state of the note PC inFIG. 1; FIGS. 4, 5 are drawings illustrating the left and right sides ofthe note PC respectively in the first closed state (the stateillustrated in FIG. 1); and FIG. 6 is a drawing of the undersurface ofthe note PC in FIG. 1.

A note PC 100 illustrated in these FIGS. 1 to 6 has a main unit 200 anda display unit 300. The display unit 300 is connected to the main unit200 via a biaxial connecting unit 400 illustrated in FIG. 2, whichenables opening and closing between the first closed state illustratedin FIG. 1 and the open state illustrated in FIG. 2 as well as rotatesthe display unit 300 a half-turn around an axis 401 of the connectingunit 400 in the direction indicated by the arrow R to close the displayunit 300 on the main unit 200 as illustrated in the second closed statein FIG. 3.

The main unit 200 has the top face equipped with a keyboard 202, theundersurface that is the bottom surface of this note PC, and a side thatcompletely surrounds the top face and the undersurface by connecting theedges of the top face and the undersurface together. A main unit cabinet201 incorporates heat-producing electronic parts such as a CPU and manyother electronic parts.

In addition, the display unit 300 has a display unit cabinet 301 and adisplay screen 312, and in the first closed state illustrated in FIG. 1,the display screen 302 is closed on the main unit 200 with the displayscreen 302 facing the keyboard 202, while in the second closed stateillustrated in FIG. 3, the display screen 302 is closed on the main unit200 in such a manner that the rear surface relative to the displayscreen 302 of the display unit cabinet 301 faces the keyboard 202 sothat the display screen 302 appears outside.

On the left side of the main unit cabinet 201, as illustrated in a leftside drawing in FIG. 4, there are disposed audio jacks 203 formicrophone and headphone, an USB connector 204 complying with the USBstandard, a SD card slit 205 through which a SD card as a type of memorycards is inserted, a hole 206 for security lock, an audio volumecontroller 207 or the like.

Incidentally in this FIG. 4, a bulge 2012 that bulges out at the back ofan undersurface 2011 of the main unit cabinet 201 is illustrated, andprotrusions 2013 that serve as supporter when this note PC 100 is put onthe floor is also illustrated. The protrusions 2013 are provided on bothsides, at the front and back of the main unit cabinet 201, and theprotrusion 2013 at the back is provided at the position overlapping thebulge 2012.

Additionally, on the right side of the main unit cabinet 201, asillustrated in a right side drawing in FIG. 5, there are disposed apower terminal 211, a CF card slit 212 through which a CF card forcommunication is inserted, a small USB (mini USB) connector 213, andothers.

Also in this FIG, 5, the bulge 2012 that bulges out at the back of theundersurface 2011 of the main unit cabinet 201 and the protrusions 2013are illustrated as in FIG. 4.

Moreover, on the undersurface 2011 of the main unit cabinet 201, asillustrated in a drawing of undersurface in FIG. 6, the above-describedbulge 2012 and the protrusions 2013 are illustrated and furthermore, anexhaust hole 2014 is illustrated.

The bulge 2012 has a shape of extending to the left and right at theback of the main unit cabinet 201 and bulging from the undersurface. Inall, four protrusions 2013 are disposed, each at the left and right ofboth the front and back sides respectively, wherein the two protrusions2013 at the back are disposed in a position overlapping the bulge 2012,each at both the left and right of the bulge 2012. These protrusions2013 serve to hold the undersurface 2011 in the main unit cabinet 201 ofthis note PC 100 in a state of being lifted from the floor when thisnote PC 100 is put on the top of a desk or the like. In the presentembodiment, multiple protrusions are provided to be spaced out from eachother, however, it is also possible to attain the same effect with oneprotrusion depending on shape and placement of the protrusion.

Moreover, the exhaust hole 2014 is formed adjacent to the bulge 2012, ata position nearer to the front side than the bulge 2012 and is distantfrom any sides surrounding the main unit cabinet 201. A guide member2015 is provided within this exhaust hole 2014. This guide member 2015will be explained together with an explanation of FIGS. 7, 8.

As illustrated in FIG. 6, a cover that can be removed by taking off ascrew is provided for the undersurface 2011 of the main unit cabinet 201to enable the repair and replacement of internal parts, which however,is not the subject here and a detailed explanation is omitted. Althoughseveral parts are provided inside the cover, there is more extra spacein this undersurface 2011 than in the sides and the exhaust hole 2014 ofsufficient width is also formed.

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of the note PC illustrated in FIGS. 1to 6, and FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional perspective view of the main unitcabinet of the note PC illustrated in FIGS. 1 to 6.

Both FIG. 7 and FIG. 8 illustrate a cross-section of the exhaust hole2014 from the front side toward the back of the note PC 100.

In a fan placement space 2016 and a battery placement space 2017 in themain unit cabinet 201 illustrated in FIG. 8, a fan 2018 and a battery2019 are disposed respectively as illustrated in FIG. 7.

The bulge 2012 that bulges on the undersurface 2011 of the main unitcabinet 201 serves to secure space for disposing the battery 2019.Additionally, with the four protrusions 2013 provided on theundersurface 2011 of the main unit cabinet 201, the undersurface 2011 isheld in a state of being lifted from a floor surface 10. Since theprotrusions 2013 at the back are placed in a position overlapping thebulges 2012, this note PC 100 is held slightly askew to the front sidewhen placed on the floor, which enhances the operability of the keyboardand also serves to make a space between the undersurface 2011 and thefloor surface 10 wider at the back to guide the air discharged from theexhaust hole 2014 to the back.

In addition, the fan placement space 2016 has openings 2016 a, 2016 babove and below thereof. The fan 2018 disposed in this fan placementspace 2016 takes in air from these openings 2016 a, 2016 b anddischarges the air toward the back of the main unit cabinet (in thedirection indicated by the arrow rl in FIGS. 7, 8). The air dischargedfrom the fan 2018 in the direction of arrow rl hits a guide panel 2015formed diagonally, which guides the air in a slanting downward direction(r2) and the air is discharged outside the cabinet from the exhaust hole2014 by being directed to flow in the lower diagonal direction towardthe back of the main unit cabinet 201. The air discharged outside thecabinet flows divided into the left and right as illustrated by thearrows A, B in FIG. 6 due to the bulges 2012 disposed immediately at theback and flows outside from the bottom of the note PC 100. Incidentally,since there is also space between the bulges 2012 and the floor, the airdischarged outside the cabinet from the exhaust hole 2014 flows throughthe bottom of the bulges 2012 as well to the direction indicated by thearrow C. In this way, the air discharged from the exhaust hole 2014disperses and flows through several paths from the bottom of the note PC100.

As described above, in the note PC of the present embodiment, since theexhaust hole 2014 of sufficient width is provided on the undersurface,and the undersurface 2011 is held in a state of being lifted from thefloor, especially at the back thereof, it is possible to secure flowpath of sufficient width even with the exhaust hole 2014 formed on theundersurface, thereby enough cooling capability is ensured.

Further, since the protrusions are provided, clearance can be securedbetween the floor surface on which this electronic device is placed andthe undersurface of the cabinet especially at the back of the electronicdevice, thereby flow path of the air discharged from the exhaust holecan be secured. Therefore, the electronic device of the presentinvention can secure a sufficient cooling capability adequate for theadvancement of high functions, miniaturization, and slimness.

It should be noted that, although here, the explanation has been givenabout the note PC, the technical concept of the present invention is notlimited to the note PC, but also can be applied to electronic devices ingeneral equipped with a cooling capability by a fan.

All examples and conditional language recited herein are intended forpedagogical purposes to aid the reader in understanding the principlesof the invention and the concepts contributed by the inventor tofurthering the art, and are to be construed as being without limitationto such specifically recited examples and conditions, nor does theorganization of such examples in the specification relate to a showingof the superiority and inferiority of the invention. Although theembodiment of the present invention have been described in detail, itshould be understood that the various changes, substitutions, andalterations could be made hereto without departing from the spirit andscope of the invention.

1. An electronic device comprising: a cabinet having a top face, anundersurface, and a side that completely surrounds the top face and theundersurface by connecting the outer edge of the top face and the outeredge of the undersurface together; and an electronic part disposedinside the cabinet, wherein the cabinet has an exhaust hole provided inthe undersurface of the cabinet, at a position distant from the side ofthe cabinet; a fan disposed inside the cabinet, which blows air insidethe cabinet from the exhaust hole; and at least one protrusion disposedat the back of the undersurface of the cabinet, protruding from theundersurface of the cabinet and holding the cabinet placed on a flatplate in a state of being lifted.
 2. The electronic device according toclaim 1, wherein the fan blows air toward the back of the cabinet, andthe electronic device further comprises a guide member that guides theair blown from the fan in a slanting downward direction and serves todischarge the air from the exhaust hole to the outside of the cabinet bydirecting the air to flow in the lower diagonal direction toward theback of the cabinet.
 3. The electronic device according to claim 1,wherein the cabinet has a bulge disposed at the back of the cabinet,which bulges downward and extends to the left and right, and theprotrusion is disposed at each of both left and right sides of the bulgeat a position that overlaps the bulge, and the exhaust hole is providedat a position adjacent to the bulge and nearer to the front side thanthe bulge.
 4. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein thecabinet has a bulge disposed at the back of the cabinet, which bulgesdownward and extends to the left and right, and the protrusion isdisposed at each of both left and right sides of the bulge at a positionthat overlaps the bulge, and the exhaust hole is provided at a positionadjacent to the bulge and nearer to the front side than the bulge. 5.The electronic device according to claim 1, wherein the cabinet is afirst cabinet equipped with a keyboard on the top face, and theelectronic device further comprises a second cabinet with a displayscreen, which is attached to the first cabinet so as to open and closefreely.
 6. The electronic device according to claim 2, wherein thecabinet is a first cabinet equipped with a keyboard on the top face, andthe electronic device further comprises a second cabinet with a displayscreen, which is attached to the first cabinet so as to open and closefreely.
 7. The electronic device according to claim 3, wherein thecabinet is a first cabinet equipped with a keyboard on the top face, andthe electronic device further comprises a second cabinet with a displayscreen, which is attached to the first cabinet so as to open and closefreely.
 8. The electronic device according to claim 4, wherein thecabinet is a first cabinet equipped with a keyboard on the top face, andthe electronic device further comprises a second cabinet with a displayscreen, which is attached to the first cabinet so as to open and closefreely.
 9. The electronic device according to claim 5, wherein thesecond cabinet is attached to the first cabinet at the back of the firstcabinet so as to open and close freely.
 10. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 6, wherein the second cabinet is attached to thefirst cabinet at the back of the first cabinet so as to open and closefreely.
 11. The electronic device according to claim 7, wherein thesecond cabinet is attached to the first cabinet at the back of the firstcabinet so as to open and close freely.
 12. The electronic deviceaccording to claim 8, wherein the second cabinet is attached to thefirst cabinet at the back of the first cabinet so as to open and closefreely.